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The Global Talent Fund Research Grants in Economics of Talent support research projects that explore the development, dynamics, and impact of exceptionally talented individuals on economic and societal outcomes. Grants of up to 10,000 USD are available to researchers worldwide, with 5-7 projects expected to be funded.
The Economics of Talent is a new and underexplored field of research that studies the extreme right tail of the distribution of human problem-solving ability, worldwide. Interested researchers can learn more about it by reading our Q&A page. We are especially interested in proposals answering the following (or closely related) questions:
- Can we quantify the economic returns of investing in and nurturing talent? For instance, can we estimate the effect of new or old programs on whether individuals eventually become top innovators or scientists? Relatedly, i) can we assign value to those innovations to calculate a credible ROI and ii) how is that value distributed across geography, social groups, and time?
- How is talent developed?
- Does it need to be nurtured from very early on, or can interventions at the high-school or college level deliver high value for money?
- What are the main bottlenecks in talent development? How important are factors such as intrinsic motivation, information, presence of role models, explicit economic incentives, parental/public underinvestment, etc?
- How can we spot talent? What are the most important (or neglected) signals that a young person has the potential to develop outstanding problem-solving skills? How can these signals be used to shape policy cost-effectively?
- How elastic is the supply of talent to public investment? Why do some governments invest in talent and others do not?
- Can policymakers redirect or focus talent in the direction of maximizing social value? When are scientists’ and innovators’ interest the most elastic to incentives?
Application deadline: January 4, 2026
Announcement of results: February 2026